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Sunday, 30 September 2012

Recorded in Clarksdale, Mississippi at the Shack Up Inn,
an old plantation, housing a collection of sharecropper shacks, farmhouses and
outbuildings. Its location, just three miles from Robert Johnson’s legendary
‘crossroads’ (the intersection of Highways 49 and 61), it might just be the
finest place on earth to record an old school blues album.

After releasing a trio of band recordings, this is
Ross Neilsen’s first full-length solo album and it’s a natural extension for an
artist who regularly performs in a solo setting. Its mix of classic material
and original songs is a common enough format on many a blues album, but thanks
to Neilsen’s distinctive style and a production that is hardly hi-fidelity, but
perfect, nonetheless, it sounds novel and fresh.

All those live shows, up to 200 dates a year, must
have been good practice for “The Shack Up Sessions”. Recorded in just two days,
the exigency and urgency just blasts through to the listener. Versions of “Can't
Be Satisfied” and “Spoonful” fizz and spark; the latter featuring a sliding
blues chug that should awaken the hairs on the back of the neck of the most
jaundiced blues fan. The insistent walking bassline of “Goin' Somewhere” will raise a
knowing smile or two, and it’s surely fitting that he closes the collection
with “Blues At Midnight”
and the ominous sound edit “49/61”.

San Francisco’s Owl Paws aren’t big on making
biographical information public; apart from a group interest in gravy (it’s on
their Facebook page, honest), details are scarce. I know there are four main
members, though exactly what they each contribute to the group is a mystery,
and that’s about it. Apart from the music, of course.

“Carry On” is their second EP (their self-titled
debut appeared in 2011) and it’s a six-track collection of harmonic alt. folk,
a genre which has its roots in the ‘60s with groups like CSN, and has
zig-zagged in and out of fashion ever since. Currently it’s riding on an
all-time high, and the more popular practitioners, from Fleet Foxes to Mumford
and Sons, are getting serious chart action. Even those doyennes of good taste,
young women, seem to like them.

If Old Paws get their act together, there’s no reason
they shouldn’t join the club. They make a quite exquisite sound over these half
dozen tracks; faultless boy/girl harmonies, a subtle, warm production,
enveloping arrangements and songs that wash over the listener like sunlight.
First impressions count, and “Hoot” is as good as any. Perhaps the upbeat “Sunrise”
is the star track, but really, there’s nothing in it. Listen, buy, enjoy, etc.

Lizzy & The Orca is a Montreal based folk-pop
duo. Lizzy is Lysanne Picard (vocals, ukulele, guitar, cello) and the Orca is Sébastien
Ménard (electric guitar, glockenspiel). For their second EP they’re joined by the
Orca-stra (their joke, not mine), which complements their instrumental line-up
with percussion, bass and trumpet. Their songs are idiosyncratic and charming,
but substantial, and the additional instruments round out their sound without
drawing attention away from their songwriting or their individual eccentricities.

Like all the best EPs, there’s no room for filler.
All five tracks are quietly captivating in their own way, though they’re not
the sort of songs to grab you by the collar and shake you into submission.
Instead they amble and ramble, taking their time to settle their barbs in our
aural cavities, then not letting go. Try and hear it all in one go, if you can,
but pay special attention to “The
Things I've Done”, a lovely mix of old fashioned country, ‘60s
folk and Picard’s delicate storytelling, and “The Tree Song”, a sweet little ditty, which slowly builds
to something extraordinarily fine.

Friday, 28 September 2012

If you take a peek at Ty Haruta’s Facebook page,
under ‘Biography’ there’s a short, neat and tidy blurb, which is simultaneously
deep and almost throwaway. It made me smile, as does his debut seven-song
release, entitled “Balconies”.

The Los Angeles based singer-songwriter has created a
collection of folk-rock and pop songs that are melodically strong, and he’s
blessed with a voice that does his words justice. His style is reminiscent of
artists like Jack Johnson and John Mayer, so there’s no shortage of pop hooks to
get under the skin, and although the overall presentation feels relaxed and easy,
the list of backing vocalists and musicians, and the various instruments they
employ, is impressively long.

He begins with the almost title track “Balcony”. The
phrasing is unusual, which demands attention straight away, and the rhythm is
Latin, or something that originated on a Caribbean island – whatever its
source, it’s sunny and warm. It sets up “Love Always”, a bubbly, upbeat number
with plenty of feelgood attitude. With luck and a horribly expensive radio
plugger, it’s got the potential to be a huge hit. “Wasted” would make an
interesting follow-up single, and “Talking Green” is just as instant and
immediate, with added bongos.

French painter Edouard Manet's portraits will be
showcased in a major exhibition at London's Royal Academy next year.

The
retrospective is the first of its kind in the UK and is expected to be one of
2013's exhibition highlights.

More than 50
paintings spanning Manet's career have been collected from around the world,
from both public collections and private owners.

They include
famous images such as The Railway and Mademoiselle Claus.

Manet:
Portraying Life will feature the 19th-Century French painter's "great
works" alongside lesser known pieces.

The show's
curator, MaryAnne Stevens, has also promised "quite a lot of
surprises" when the show opens in January.

Stevens said
that Manet's portraits have "not been studied in either exhibition or book
form" before, despite the artist's "unswerving commitment to the
genre of portraiture throughout his career".

Throughout his
life Manet surrounded himself with a wide circle of friends and admirers,
including leading figures from the artistic, literary and musical communities.

The latter
often served as sitters for his portraits, along with his family.

The exhibition
will examine the relationship between Manet's portrait painting and his scenes
of modern life, with different sections focusing on elements such as family,
artist friends and "status portraits" of such figures as the
politicians Henri Rochefort and Antonin Proust.

Other
highlights include The Luncheon, on loan from the Neue Pinakothek in Munich,
which depicts Leon, the son of Manet's wife.

Manet's
professional career as an artist lasted less than three decades and was cut
short by his premature death in 1883 at the age of 51.

The Royal
Academy will stage the exhibition - a collaboration with the Toledo Museum of
Art in Ohio - from 26 January to 14 April.

I Was Awake is an American, five-man, contemporary
progressive rock band from Boston and the surrounding area. All five members
are experienced musicians, having played with various rock outfits, including
Autumn Above and Fallow, and that experience tells throughout their self-titled
debut EP.

Though only five tracks long, because of the genre in
which they operate, that equates to well over 27 minutes of music; more than
enough time to make a serious impression. This they do thanks to solid
songwriting and exceptional musicianship. Both principal guitarists Justin
Demko and Dan Goodhue contribute immense riffs and needle point solos, building
a depth of sound that can be daunting. Fortunately plenty of light and shade is
provided by a three-piece string section, Chris Harvey’s vocal, both high in
tone and in the mix, and arrangements that allow room for the melodies to take
hold.

All five tracks come together to form an enjoyable
whole, rather than provide individual highlights (though I am particularly
enamoured with “The Frightened One”), and fans of Muse, A Perfect Circle and
Katatonia should really check them out.

The director of a four-day literature festival under
way in the Isle of Man has said it will be a celebration for the entire
community.

The Manx
Litfest will include a variety of talks, workshops, book launches and signings,
held throughout the island.

Festival
director and author, John Quirk said: "We have so much planned - it is
going to be a colourful celebration of literature."

The four-day
festival will run from Thursday to Sunday.

The inaugural
festival will see authors and poets delivering lectures while providing a
platform to promote local writers.

Chairman of the
Isle of Man Arts Council, Laurence Skelly, said the festival would "promote
a diverse cultural offering".

Mr Quirk came
up with the the idea in 2010 after watching a talk by local crime writer Chris
Ewan.

"I put the
idea out there on my blog and through social media and their was a unanimously
positive response," he said. "The adventure had started."

The festival
has been specifically designed to be staged around the island and include as
many people as possible, by a team of volunteers, who all give their time for
the love of books and great writing.

Mr Quirk added:
"We set out to create a colourful celebration of literature and pay
tribute to the endless worlds that books open our imaginations to."

"We wanted
to give literature in the Isle of Man the recognition it deserves."

"There is
a vast array of events for other art forms, but it was our belief that
literature had lived in the shadows here for to long."

Around 20
authors and poets from all over the British Isles will take part.

Among those
visiting the island will be the ex-BBC war correspondent Martin Bell, Tolkien
scholar Colin Duriez and literary agent Peter Cox , who will debate the effect
of e-books on publishing.

It will also
see nature writer Sarah Crowe visit the island as she begins a year-long
journey in a camper van, to find the "wild" places of the British
Isles.

The event has
been funded through a £5,000 from the Manx Lottery Trust, as well as support by
the Manx Heritage Foundation and the Isle of Man Arts Council.

From Knoxville, Tennessee, The Weird Andys are a
four-piece garage band with bluesy and acid rock nuances and plenty of hard rocking
chops. None of them are called Andy – shame. So that’s the bare bones of it,
but there’s plenty of interesting detail to fill in the gaps.

They’re partial to turning their guitars up, and when
they reference Hendrix and his heavy psychedelic guitar squall, we understand
precisely what they’re driving at. They mix in a little feral Americana, for
some context, together with whatever rhythm they see fit, and their resulting
noise is always appealing, on one level or another. They’re some decent songs,
too. The album kicks off with “Pavement Pound”, a lovely, grungy storm of a
song, with some delicate post-punk strings providing guidance. Both guitarists
/ vocalists Matt Hensley and Josh Brown show what fine musicians they are, and
whoever it is taking lead vocal, also does himself proud.

Other songs of special note are “In the Know” which
pleasingly combines late ‘70s punk and something that crawled out of Seattle in
the mid ’80s, “Slow Train” is less urgent – there’s a clue somewhere in the
title – but still rocks gloriously, and last track “Friends”, which gallops
along with a rhythm that Gang Of Four would happily call their own.

Thursday, 27 September 2012

Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood has said he is
"staggered" and "shocked" by a sale of art and memorabilia,
organised by his former wife Jo.

Rolling Stones
tour outfits and a custom Fender Stratocaster are among the lots being offered
at auction in Los Angeles next month.

Wood said some
of the items were "clearly his personal belongings" and that he had
no involvement in the sale.

The couple's
divorce was finalised in 2011, after 24 years of marriage.

They had
separated three years earlier, after Ronnie's widely reported relationship with
waitress Ekaterina Ivanova.

Julien's
Auctions in Beverly Hills announced on Wednesday that Jo was putting band
memorabilia, which she had collected over the years, under the hammer as part
of the sale, which is expected to raise up to $500,000 (£388,000).

Should it go
ahead, the auction will benefit MusiCares, the Grammys charity that offers
recovery to people in the music industry.

The collection
features memorabilia spanning four decades, from the guitarist's work with the
Rolling Stones, his earlier association with Faces and his solo career.

Live Poets Society is singer-songwriter-guitarist
JeeWee Donkers and keyboardist-flutist Peter Holen, and on their debut record,
drummer Frank Schuuring and bass player Rob Weenink have joined them. They
remind me of a clutch of late ‘70s groups who appeared the same time as the new
wave broke, but who seemed to have evolved from a classic pop tradition rather
than punk. Groups like The Korgis and New Musik spring to mind, and Live Poets
Society share a talent for strong tunes and songs that stick around long after
they’re finished. Also, partly because of the instrumentation, they’re very
good at building a melancholy mood. Nothing too dark, but it’s there, all the
same.

“Square One” plays like a proper album should. It
flows beautifully, one track to the next, and the quality of the material never
wanes. Opening tune “Sucker
for Your Smile” outlines their approach. Keys and guitars
combine, and there’s a hint of Lloyd Cole’s Commotions or third album
Television in the delivery. This is definitely pop music, but it’s the good
stuff, and worth getting excited about. “Draw Me Closer” begins like an old Chris Isaak song
before other soul-rock influences come into play, and a pristine guitar solo
opens the door. “Pretty Complicated” is jazzy and upbeat, “Rub It In” features some great
Traffic-like flute, and final flourish, “Trust in You”, wraps things up in fine style.